Clement won't be ready for Opening Day

Surprise, surprise. Though, who really is surprised by the news from the St. Louis Cardinals that right-hander Matt Clement will not be ready by Opening Day.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan broke the news, saying it wasn't a physical setback but lack of strength in his pitching shoulder.

Clement is trying to make a comeback from surgery, almost a year and a half ago, on a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

When free agency had first started, there was a lot of talk that Clement was going to end up back with his former team the San Diego Padres. The Padres must have seen something in his medical reports that kept that signing from happening. It wasn't the fact that they didn't want a pitcher coming off surgery, they've got 2 of those in Mark Prior and Randy Wolf not to mention Glendon Rusch who's returning from a blood clot.

Clement signs $1.5M 1-year deal with Cards

1.3.07 8:56pm PST

According to the AP, the Cardinals deal with Matt Clement is a 1-year $1.5M deal and he can earn $5.25M in performance bonuses plus an $8.75M option for 2009.

1.3.07 6:17pm PST

After talk that Clement wanted to sign with the Pirates or Indians, he ends up signing a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com.

The Cardinals did not release the details of the deal, but it supposedly has incentives based on performance as well as an option for 2009.

Clement signs with Cardinals

After talk that Clement wanted to sign with the Pirates or Indians, he ends up signing a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com.

The Cardinals did not release the details of the deal, but it supposedly has incentives based on performance as well as an option for 2009.

Clement offered minor league deal from Cardinals

Scott Wuertz reported yesterday that Matt Clement was close to signing with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In his blog today, Wuertz reports that the Cardinals had offered Clement a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training but turned it down.

He's now expected to sign with either the Pirates or Indians. Clement just recently built a new home in Butler, PA where he was born.

Clement to sign with Cardinals?

12.30.07 11:06am PST

Contrary to Scott Wuerz' report, John Perrotto reports that Clement is going to sign with either the Pirates or Indians.

12.30.07 9:37am PST

Scott Wuerz of the Belleville News Democrat has a rumor that the Cardinals are close to signing free agent right-hander Matt Clement.

There's no details on whether it's a 1-year deal or more than that.

I sent emails to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Matt Leach the Cardinals' beat writer for MLB.com to see if I can get any details and/or further confirmation of the deal.

Phillies interested in Clement, Benson, Jennings

After the Phillies took a run at Randy Wolf, though he's fresh from shoulder surgery, have their eyes on a few other pitchers who are also coming off shoulder surgeries. They could make runs at Matt Clement, Kris Benson or Jason Jennings during the Winter Meetings.

They could also kick the tires on Bartolo Colon, but it's likely they'll see how talks progress for the first 3 before turning to Colon.

Padres Updates

Here are some updates from an article posted this morning by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune

The Padres and Jake Peavy have agreed to the basics of the 3-year extension that will keep him under the Padres' control until 2012. The next step for both sides is to negotiate a no-trade clause for the 2007 Cy Young Award Winner. Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, said “very encouraged” after meeting with General Manager Kevin Towers at the winter meetings last night in Nashville. “We are closing in on getting something done,” Axelrod said. “It's not done yet.” The 3-year extension is said to be worth $50M - $54M overall.

The Padres have intensified their pursuit of Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome is listed as a right fielder, but the Padres view him as a capable center fielder as well.

The deal for Randy Wolf is for a guaranteed $4M, but with incentives the deal could be worth $9M.

Matt Clement has made it known that the Padres are his first choice, but since the Padres signed left-hander Randy Wolf, they don't see Clement as a high priority. Clement is getting more interest from teams like Toronto and Seattle.

Pitcher Brett Tomko is getting interest from 8 different teams, one of those is the Padres who want to sign him for their bullpen.

Former Padre, and every other team in the NL West, Steve Finley paid his own way to the Winter Meetings in Nashville. He met with Padre officials yesterday telling clubs that he still has something left in the tank. If the Padres are able to re-sign Mike Cameron, they will need a center fielder for the first month of the season due to Cameron's suspension.

Diamondbacks could be a big player during Winter Meetings

This time of year, there's always a lot of hype going into the MLB Winter Meetings, this year taking place in Nashville, TN. You hear the usual suspects in the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, etc, but one name may come up that might surprise you... the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Though the DBacks have been very quiet in the weeks leading up to the annual meetings, they will be looking for the one thing that a lot of other teams will also be searching for...starting pitching. Arizona is especially vulnerable with aging veteran Randy Johnson coming off back surgery, as well as losing Livan Hernandez to free agency. The team currently has a 3-year offer out to Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, but so do a few other teams. Other names they have been linked to are right-hander Matt Clement and, before he signed with the Padres, left-hander Randy Wolf.

One thing that gives the Diamondbacks negotiating power is, they have young players that may entice other teams. Though, they will have their list of untouchable players such as Chris Young, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds. Players they might be talked into parting with included Carlos Quentin or Double-A outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Padres still have interest in acquiring Matt Clement and Mark Prior

In an article in today's San Diego Union Tribune, Tom Krasovic writes that the Padres still have a lot of interest in acquiring both Matt Clement, who's a free agent, and Mark Prior, who is still under contract with the Chicago Cubs. According to Krasovic, the Padres have had trade talks with the Chicago Cubs, after learning that Prior wants to sign with San Diego and will be more agreeable in negotiations with the team, especially since Towers and Prior are almost next door neighbors.

As for Matt Clement, he's made it known that he would like to return to the Padres and re-establish his career, after having injury plagued seasons in Boston. According to the Red Sox, Clement was ready to go during the playoffs, but they did not have room in their rotation and did not want to throw him out there in a big game without knowing how he would handle it.